Complexity Simplified

The Tech Museum

Creating the museum of the future, today

Visitors expect innovation

Visitors of all ages flock to the Tech Museum of Innovation in Silicon Valley to engage with cutting edge science. So when this hands-on learning center asked us to reinvent their museum experience, we partnered with Tessitura specialists at JCA to create an imaginative, interactive and social experience that would occur both in and out of the museum. The new website would be designed to adapt to visitor needs and preferences and empower them to learn, explore, and collaborate.

DIGITAL PUZZLE

Seamless integration required

The experience had to integrate the museum’s desktop website, mobile website, gallery kiosks and electronically aware exhibits. Many of The Tech’s exhibits have interactive components that take visitor photos, videos or monitor experiments. Our interface would give users access to these digital artifacts, plus related content and social features. There were several more key requirements. The system needed to adhere to ADA wheelchair accessibility standards, support an audio interface for the sight impaired, and support multiple languages. It also needed to comply with COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act), yet still deliver shared, social engagement. In addition, the system needed to offer different functionality at the museum vs. off-site.

50,000 APPROXIMATE NUMBER OF YEARLY VISITORS TO THE TECH MUSEUM
BEHIND THE SCENES

Developing a single interface

We did in-depth user research, created mobile and touchscreen prototypes, and conducted iterative usability testing for multiple device sizes. From there we created an intuitive interface with a modern look and feel. We developed my.thetech.org as a single, HTML5-coded, mobile-friendly website that adapts to provide touch-screen interaction on museum kiosks, and provides added functionality on web and mobile devices when users are at The Tech.

YOU ARE HERE

Physical + digital = “Phygital”

With the new my.thetech.org, visitors can plan museum trips, schedule events and share itineraries. They can safely share their activity and view activity for family, friends or classmates. The digital jewel in their crown is our RFID-enhanced museum map. The map remembers a visitor’s past activity and highlights exhibits not yet seen. The map also provides a way for groups or families to stay connected at the museum, allowing visitors to track themselves or other group members on a real time, responsive map interface available via personal device or museum kiosk.

Like what you see? Lets Talk over Coffee Let's Talk